Could LBJ have handled this any worse ???

• dat dude

  Red_Skin_Pride;417464 wrote:It's a fucking game. Guy gets paid to do a job. He did what he thought was best for him GOD FORBID. He signed a contract for a certain length of time, NOT FOREVER. Once again, as we see 6857463542447687987 times in sports, the FANS get THEIR expectations confused with HIS expectations. He never signed a contract saying he was the savior of Cleveland sports, nor did he anoint himself as the the end-all, be-all. The MEDIA and the fans thrust that upon him, and now everyone is mad at him for wanting to go do something HE WOULD NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER do in Cleveland; win a title. Sorry, but Cleveland had him for 7 years, the majority of a DECADE and couldn't get it done. He could see himself rotting in old age losing in the Eastern conference semis and finals year in a year out (if his "supporting cast" of B-level players helped him get that far) like all of the (very few) great athletes that Cleveland sports teams have had in the last 20 or so years, and like so many other players in all sports who have dreamed of bringing the ass crack of the USA a title, it would never have happened. Come on...Z? Varejao? Delonte West? 72 year old Shaq? None of those guys, other than Shaq about 10 years ago, are players that play on great teams. Those are the guys that get beat by great teams. And Shaq's not getting any younger.
  
  And Dan Gilbert is one dumbass whiny little bitch. You bet that if the Cavs organization thought they could get an ungodly amout of swag for LeBron they would have traded his ass in a heartbeat...but when the shoe's on the other foot, he wants to cry and talk 'betrayal'. You betrayed LeBron the day you hired Mike Brown's dumbass to coach him. Pat Riley, Phil Jackson hell even Doc Rivers and...Mike Brown? You tell me who's the odd man out. You want to build a filet mignon organization, you don't go get rump roast to coach it.
  
  Bottom line is this: the Cavs knew 8 years ago they were gonna get LBJ out of HS...MORE THAN ENOUGH time to get the pieces in place to win AT LEAST 1 title, if not many. And the ORGANIZATION failed to give him enough help. They gave him a shit coach, a shit "team" and supporting cast, and expected him, despite all that to go out and beat teams like the Pistons (early in his career), Magic, Celtics, Lakers etc. who all have good-great coaches AND 10x's the supporting cast he had. He gave them all the time he felt like they needed, and instead of trying, they just sat back and said "win it for us LeBron". He got sick of that shit, and can you blame him? He gave everything to that organization and city, and the organization gave about 10% effort back to him. The Cavs broke the cardinal rule of pro sports since it IS a buisiness: KEEP THE STAR PLAYER HAPPY AT ALL COSTS. Because if you don't, there are always about 31 other teams that would LOVE to have that player on their team. In this case, the Heat cleared enough cap AND had Dwade and Bosh to draw him in. It's everything Cleveland couldn't give him, and you fans wanna cry about that?? Pathetic. I can see you being UPSET that he left, but cursing him and acting like he never did anything for you? Please. The only thing all of you AND Dan Gilbert are going to wake up to for your "much brighter tomorrow" is the realization that you're still Cleveland, and you are about to go back to joining the Indians and the Browns and drown in mediocrity because you didn't listen to your star player for the last 7 years. The fault lies with the organization for not helping LBJ do what he gets paid to do. WIN. So he went somewhere that will help him do that.

  
  
• The Equalizer

  

  Jordan and Kobe didn't win it on their own. Kobe had Shaq in his prime and Jordan won 6 with Pippen. Remember Jordan before Pippen? He was the one scoring 60 against Boston and losing. Sounds kind of familiar.
  
  Also he doesn't owe Cleveland a 2 week notice like he works at fucking Subway. He doesn't need them for a future reference.
• pmoney25

  

  Kobe basically kicked Shaq out of town because he wanted to win it on his own. He was tired of everyone saying he can only win with Shaq.
  
  And people now bring up the Jordan/Pippen thing. Pippen was a great player but he was not the 2nd or 3rd best player in the league. If you know anything about how huge a egomaniac Jordan is, he would have never done something like this. He wanted to beat and absolutely destroy the other best players in the league, not puss out and go join there team.
  
  Lebron will NEVER be Jordan or even Kobe.
  
  Great players or great people in general want to be the reason why something is successful but also are willing to be the reason why something fails. Lebron doesn't want either of those.
• gut

  Jordan suffered to beat DET and BOS, and he grew from it. Jordan was OBSESSED with beating the best. But if you're Lebron, if you can't beat 'em join 'em. Jordan going to DET or BOS to win a title? Inconceivable. This is the path Lebron's legacy is now on.
• karen lotz

  

  pmoney25;417786 wrote:Kobe basically kicked Shaq out of town because he wanted to win it on his own. He was tired of everyone saying he can only win with Shaq.

  
  That was after winning how many titles? Who knows, maybe the Heat will win a mitt full of titles and LeBron will want to move on and win some on his own. Will he be on Kobe's level then?
• ytownfootball

  

  http://deadspin.com/5581889/lebron-james-is-a-cocksucker
  
  Lol
• Rider_In_Ttown

  

  Come on, I live in Ohio and love my job but if what I felt was a better opportunity came along out of state I would take it in a heartbeat. Would I be considered a traitor? I used to work at the University and many people there were upset with the amount of students graduating from Med school and leaving Ohio for work. Are they traitors for getting their degree in Ohio and deciding they would rather practice Medicine in the Carolina's, Florida, etc. than staying home and practicing in Ohio? I can see being upset if you are a Cavs fan for him leaving but calling him a traitor is crazy. He has worked hard to become one of the best basketball players in the NBA and he has earned the right to decide where he wants to play.
  
  As for doing it on TV, I know it looked bad but I think no matter what ESPN was going to run 2 hours of LeBron's decission and interviews no matter what. I think he saw it as a way to cash in on it too and donate the money to charity. If he would have chosen Cleveland last night everyone on here would be posting what a great guy he was for seeing the amount of money he could raise for charity by holding this on TV.
• KnightRyder

  

  maybe it was for the best. last nite james threw in towel and quit on his home. if you cant fight hard to win in your own backyard how can you do it else where? it takes a special person , both mentally and physically to bring a championship to cleveland. lebron just didnt have the enough heart for that task. Bernie Kosar's arent born everyday.
• karen lotz

  

  KnightRyder;417855 wrote:Bernie Kosar's arent born everyday.

  
  What did Bernie Kosar win?
• thedynasty1998

  

  ytownfootball;417803 wrote:http://deadspin.com/5581889/lebron-james-is-a-cocksucker
  
  Lol

  
  That was posted yesterday.
• I Wear Pants

  karen lotz;417857 wrote:What did Bernie Kosar win?

  Respect.
  
  If you honestly think Lebron handled this whole thing well and with class you're probably a douchebag. Flat out. There's a way of going about things that doesn't make you a dick and then there's what Lebron did.
• killdeer

  

  the fact that he left is really not the problem...
  in this era of pro sports and free agency, nothing surprises me anymore.
  
  it really was just the chest-thumping spectacle he allowed to happen, when he knew (or should have known) the effect it would have on his hometown/fans/supporters that have followed him since high school.
  the lack of respect that he showed there, both to Cleveland, and the Cavs themselves was telling.
• pmoney25

  

  He will never be on Kobe level for multiple reasons. Kobe didn't choose to play with Shaq, so that comparison of him winning rings before Shaq left doesn't really work. You can just tell that Kobe wants to succeed/fail on his own. He is not afraid to be the scapegoat and wants to be the hero. This coming from someone who doesn't really care for Kobe at all.
  
  Lebron wanted to go where he could get the most attention and create a spectacle. If it were truly a basketball move, the Bulls would have been a better choice. A lineup of Rose, James,Boozer, Noah with Deng and Taj Gibson is a better team than Wade, Bosh, Lebron.
  
  The Cavs did whatever Lebron wanted, Went after Hughes(Fail), Went after Shaq(Fail), went after Mo Williams(Fail.) Maybe the problem wasn't all The Cavs fault.
• karen lotz

  

  I Wear Pants;417864 wrote:Respect.
  
  If you honestly think Lebron handled this whole thing well and with class you're probably a douchebag. Flat out. There's a way of going about things that doesn't make you a dick and then there's what Lebron did.

  
  He handled it well up until last night when he didn't call Gilbert and let him know before he sat down with Jim Gray.
  
  Also, after you saying you hoped that his plane crashed and whatever else bullshit you said about LeBron, there is no probably about it. You are a fucking douchebag.
• I Wear Pants

  Plane crash = obvious joke
  
  I hope he doesn't succeed down there though. I hope he's healthy and so are the rest of the guys on the team but I hope they can never get it done.
  
  How did he handle it well up until last night? You think turning it into a "Look at me everyone" circus is handling it well? What about not answering the Cavs phone calls for a month?
• karen lotz

  

  I Wear Pants;417898 wrote:Plane crash = obvious joke
  
  How did he handle it well up until last night? You think turning it into a "Look at me everyone" circus is handling it well? What about not answering the Cavs phone calls for a month?

  
  He wasn't in the media talking about all of his meetings. He wasn't tweeting about the process. He kept a pretty low profile, as low as could have been expected with someone of his stature. Are we sure that LeBron didn't answer/return calls and texts over the past month? It could be entirely possible that Gilbert is just so emotional at this point that he is throwing random shit out there.
  
  Also, you have made numerous statements wishing harm to him. That is about as classless as it gets. You can hope that he doesn't have success as far as championships go but to say you hope he gets hurt or dies in a plane crash is full of douchebaggery.
• killdeer

  

  I Wear Pants;417898 wrote:
  
  .....but I hope they can never get it done.

  
  quite possible...it wouldn't be the first time a franchise attempted to buy a title, only to fall short.
  
  can you imagine how fast the all the "feel good" blogging and unselfishness between DW, Bosh and LBJ will fall apart when/if that happens?
• The Equalizer

  

  Didn't Pryor turn his signing day into look at me minus an ESPN show? This was Lebron's signing day. The only better thing could have been him almost putting on a cav's hat and then dropping it on the ground and putting on the miami hat.
• I Wear Pants

  The Equalizer;417916 wrote:Didn't Pryor turn his signing day into look at me minus an ESPN show? This was Lebron's signing day. The only better thing could have been him almost putting on a cav's hat and then dropping it on the ground and putting on the miami hat.

  Wasn't Pryor (still is) a gigantic douche for that?
• killdeer

  

  The Equalizer;417916 wrote: ............. The only better thing could have been him almost putting on a cav's hat, taking it off, spitting on it, and then dropping it on the ground and taking a big fat dump on it, and putting on the miami hat.

  
  fixed
• rmolin73

  

  The Equalizer;417916 wrote:Didn't Pryor turn his signing day into look at me minus an ESPN show? This was Lebron's signing day. The only better thing could have been him almost putting on a cav's hat and then dropping it on the ground and putting on the miami hat.

  
  Hell yes he did and he updated his facebook repeatedly.
• rmolin73

  

  killdeer;417921 wrote:I'm am one of the whiny little bitches..

  
  fixed
• killdeer

  

  rmolin73;417927 wrote:I wish LBJ would have taken a crap on my face and autographed it, so I could sell it on e-bay (the turd, not my face)

  
  bak at ya, douche
• Hulk Smash

  gut;417796 wrote:Jordan suffered to beat DET and BOS, and he grew from it. Jordan was OBSESSED with beating the best. But if you're Lebron, if you can't beat 'em join 'em. Jordan going to DET or BOS to win a title? Inconceivable. This is the path Lebron's legacy is now on.

  
  
  Boston and Detroit were both in decline at the time so it's obvious that he would not have went to either. That statement also made it obvious that you either are not old enough to remember that time or were not a fan at the time.
  
  There is just no way Jordan would have stayed on a team that was going backwards like the Cavs. Jordan's Bulls were getting little a closer year after year and really only had one team between them and their first title, an aging Pistons team that beat them 3 years in a row and it was getting tougher each time.
  There is more than just one aging team between the Cavs and a championship and the Cavs were getting farther away from not closer too hoisting a championship trophy. LBJ is not in the same situation MJ was.
• osu45804

  

  Even though it's from a Celtics site I'm a little bias but I think it's pretty much spot on....
  
  http://www.celticstown.com/2010/07/09/lebrons-public-douchebaggery-stains-his-legacy/
  
  
  I was out to dinner last night and I could barely hear anyone speak. There was some annoying game of musical trivia on the loudspeakers, blasting old-school tunes. There were people screaming everywhere around me, trying to let their voices be heard over all the goddamn music. And then, quite suddenly, there was pretty much complete silence. The music was turned off, everyone stopped speaking, and the restaurant had turned the TV station to “The Decision.”
  
  It couldn’t have been more clear than it was in that restaurant last night: Whether you’re Lebron’s biggest fan or you think he’s the biggest douchebag in the universe, you watched last night as he made his choice. You can say whatever you want about the way Maverick Carter and the rest of LeTeam handled Lebron’s free agency, but there was a buzz about it unlike any I’ve ever seen. I’m not even kidding when I say the whole restaurant went quiet and simply listened to Lebron. Everything stopped and Lebron was the only one who mattered.
  
  Which, you get the feeling, is exactly how Lebron always feels. He could have called a simple press conference with Wade and Bosh to announce their decision. He could have apologized to Cleveland, telling the world he loves his hometown but couldn’t envision himself winning titles there. And nobody would have blamed him; we all know Cleveland wasn’t his best opportunity to win championships. He’d already tried there and failed, and the Cavs didn’t have much roster flexibility to make positive changes. We all understand Chicago or Miami were both far better places for Lebron to win rings. Cleveland was his hometown, sure, but if Lebron had show humility and a sense of compassion when making his decision we all would have forgiven him.
  
  Instead, he turned his decision into one of the greatest spectacles of douchebaggery ever seen in modern sports. Not only did he hold the entire world — as well as every team that recruited him — hostage, but Lebron did it in such a way that you almost wondered if he was intentionally sabotaging his public image. “The Decision”? Really? Lebron could have been caught with drugs and wouldn’t have done as much damage to his image. At least people would have seen him as human, rather than an attention whore seeking only to increase his marketability in any ill-advised way possible, even if it meant tearing Cleveland’s heart out on national television, even if it meant turning the whole world, save one city, against him.
  
  But my guess is that Lebron doesn’t want us to see him as human. He wants to be seen as a basketball god, an immortal legend bigger than the sport and everyone else who plays it. At least, that’s how he makes it seem. How else can you explain Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh revealing their decisions quietly while Lebron created an hour-long television show to tell the world his own?
  
  Lebron and Wade were free agents 1A and 1B, but Lebron didn’t feel that way. In his mind, this summer was the summer of his own free agency, not anyone else’s. Sure Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh were highly sought-after, but nobody captivates the public’s interest, and now its disdain, like Lebron. Lebron knew that and he tried to use it to his advantage. He tried to play this free agency spectacle to a crescendo, but ended up crashing and burning inside the Greenwich Boys and Girls Club while millions of people looked on.
  
  It’s weird, too, because while Lebron cemented his ego-hounding image worldwide, he somehow managed to maintain his on-court reputation as a selfless teammate. We criticize stars every day for chasing money, chasing glory, but Lebron James only wants to win titles. He made a decision to sacrifice his own personal star in order to win championships and play with his friends. In a world in which players consistently want to pad their stats, make as much money as possible and establish themselves as superior to anyone else, Lebron’s decision to share the spotlight should have been refreshing. It should have been about a player trying to do the right thing.
  
  Instead, because of the embarrassing fashion with which he executed his decision, Lebron’s selfless decision to share the wealth, fame, spotlight and rings was all about ego, all about a man who thinks he’s above society. Lebron and LeCrew tried to raise Lebron’s star by making a spectacle unlike any other, but in the process took an axe to Lebron’s bond with his home state and tore down any good-standing Lebron had with NBA fans. They tried to raise Lebron’s star by raising the hoopla to an hour-long, self-indulged frenzy, but Lebron, Maverick Carter and everybody else who decided to put together “The Decision” forgot one thing:
  
  Lebron’s world-encompassing star can only be increased by one thing, and it certainly isn’t millions of viewers watching a free agency decision. It’s a fulfillment of the one accomplishment Lebron has yet to achieve during his NBA career: Winning an NBA title.
  
  Now, you have to wonder if even that will be enough.